Title. Downwards
Part. five
Part Title. What Would You Like to Hear?
Warnings and Disclaimers. First part.
Notes. Plugh.  Am I getting a little ooc with some of this?  *shrugs*  Sorry if I am.  Forgive me, forgive me.

/ thoughts /    [ dreams ]       ( flashbacks )

::*~~*::

            It was still a good hour before lunch.  Tasuki had found Chichiri and Kouji in one of the gardens underneath a big, shady oak tree.  He sat down in front of them, letting out a sigh as he did.
            “Hello, Tasuki, no da,” Chichiri greeted, grinning as always.
            “Hey, Genrou,” Kouji said, using the nickname his family had given him years ago.  “Somethin’ wrong?”
            “Nah,” Tasuki said with a shrug, picking at some grass near his legs.  “Kamau is comin’ next Saturday to see me.”
            “Awesome!” Kouji chirped.  “She sounded really cool.”
            “Yeah, I guess she is.”
            “Why do you have a phone, no da?” Chichiri asked curiously.
            Again, Tasuki shrugged.  “Sis must’ve given it to me when I wasn’t lookin’.  Doesn’t bug me, though.  Weekends are free.  So long as no one talks on it durin’ the week, I’m good...”  He looked over at Kouji.
            Kouji put his hands up in defense.  “Hey, now, I was jus’ wonderin’ who it was, ‘kay?  I won’t use it again without your permission.”
            “Good, ‘cause I’m the one that has to pay for the bill.”
            “Why did you look disappointed, no da?” Chichiri spoke up.
            “Huh?” Tasuki said dumbly.  “Oh, ‘bout Kamau being ‘ere?  It wouldn’t be so bad if she hadn’t sounded so... serious ‘bout it.”
            “Serious, no da?”
            “Yeah.”  Tasuki sighed again, leaning back onto his elbows.  “I can’t help but feel like I’m going to hate whatever reason she has for seein’ me.”
            “How can you be so sure?” Kouji asked.
            “Just... something in ‘er voice.”  He shook his head and changed the subject: “What did you and Kamau talk about, Kouji?”
            “Oh, jus’ this and that...”
            “Be more specific.”
            “Aw, afraid she said somethin’ embarrassing about you, Genrou-chan?”
            “Nah, jus’ curious,” the red-head defended lamely.
            Kouji snickered.  “Don’t worry, Genrou.  I jus’ talked to ‘er about the school.”  He grinned and added, “And she told me some of your most embarrassing moments at Windhollow...”
            Tasuki’s eyes widened.  “What moments?”
            “Some of the stuff you did for the girls you liked.  It was pretty bad.”
            Tasuki sighed in relief.  Kamau hadn’t told him about the incident last year.  Good, he wasn’t fond of the idea of people knowing about that.  He rubbed his neck.
            “Nothin’ too bad as to make you run away and not want to show your face again...”  Kouji gave his new friend a calculating look.  “So I still want to know what you left.”
            “Like I told Chichiri,” Tasuki said, sounding uncharacteristically serious, “people suck there.  That’s.  All.”  The lat word had a finishing tone to it, warning Kouji not to continue the conversation, though his voice wasn’t that harsh.
            “Umm... ‘kay, I’ll take your word for it.”
            “Excuse me.”
            The three teens turned toward the source of the new voice.  Before them stood a tall young man with long, dark hair.  His outfit was neatly pressed, without a sign of one wrinkle.  He stood with great posture, looking business-like, though he wore a friendly smile.
            “Hey, there, class rep,” Kouji greeted with a small wave.
            “Morning, Hotohori-san, no da.”
            “Good morning, Chichiri, Kouji,” Hotohori replied, then turning his attention to Tasuki.  “I saw you yesterday, but I didn’t get to meet you.  You’re new, correct?”
            “Yeah, that’s right,” Tasuki answered, sitting up straight up.  “Name’s Tasuki.”
            “And I am the class representative, Hotohori.”  He extended his hand, to which Tasuki took it and shook.  “Where are you from?”
            “East of here, near Windhollow.”
            “Excellent school, from what I’ve heard.”
            “And what everyone else has hear, too,” Tasuki muttered under his breath.  He wished silently that the topic wouldn’t stray to the reasons he left Windhollow, like it seemed they had a pattern of doing in his first confrontations with people.
            “Pardon, Tasuki-kun?”
            Tasuki smiled sweetly and shook his head.  “Nothin’, class rep.”
            Hotohori raised a brow before shrugging it off.  “Well, I just wanted to introduce myself.  If you have questions about the school, please ask me.”  He bowed to the three of them.  “See you all later.”
            Kouji waved and Chichiri said, “Bye-bye, no da!”
            “Jaa, Hotohori,” Tasuki said simply.
            “That’s the guy, Genrou,” Kouji said once Hotohori was out of sight.
            “The guy who?”  Tasuki cocked an eyebrow at his friend.
            “The guy Nuriko likes.  She told you ‘bout that, right?”
            “Oh.”  Tasuki reclined on his elbows once more.  “Looks more like a girl than a guy, if you ask me.”
            The other two youths snickered at the remark.  “He does, no da.  But a lot of girls still like him, no da.  Even some guys.”
            “Some of ‘em just like ‘is money.”
            “Money?” Tasuki asked curiously.
            “Yup, money.  I’d say he’s probably one of the richest kids at this school...”
            “That’s a really tacky reason to go out with anyone.”

            Lunch time finally came, and the first half of it wasn’t that bad.  Aside from Eiken grinning at Tasuki the entire time, probably thinking of whatever he had in mind for the ‘test’ that evening.  And Kouji got the entire table(including Chichiri) to start calling him ‘Genrou’.
            “So, do you guys normally mingle with everyone else, or does everyone have their place?” Tasuki asked, sipping on a soda.
            “What do you mean?” Eiken asked, eyebrow raised.
            “You know,” he said, shrugging his left shoulder, “preps with preps, jocks with jocks, Goths with Goths.”
            “Ohh,” everyone at the table said at one time.
            “That’s kind of what it’s like, no da,” Chichiri said.  “But no one cares if you sit with someone new.  General labels, no da.”
            Tasuki nodded, grinning.  “All right, thanks.”  He picked up his tray.  “See you guys at dinner.”  He walked off.
            All of the pack-members stared after him in disbelief.
            “What th’ hell is he doin’?” Kouji asked, watching Tasuki’s retreating figure.
            “Meeting new people, no da?” Chichiri suggested.
            Tasuki looked around the cafeteria, searching for someone in specific.  When he located his target, his grin grew and he made his way over to a table full of girls.
            “Does anyone mind if I sit ‘ere?” he asked.
            The girls at the table all looked up at him.  Sitting next to the empty seat he was asking for was Nuriko, looking somewhat surprised.  She then smiled and said, “No, no one minds.”
            He set his tray down before taking the empty seat.  He scanned the table briefly before instigating conversation.  “So, how’s everyone doin’ today?”
            The girl across from him, who had maroon hair in two buns, replied, “Today’s been all right, kind of boring.”  She shrugged.  “You’re new, right?  What’s your name?”
            “Tasuki,” he answered, flashing the table a wide smile.  “And who are all these gorgeous beauties at this table?”
            “My name’s Miaka,” the girl across from him said.  She pointed to the girl next to her, who had short blond hair.  “This is Yui, one of my best friends.  And that,” she pointed at Nuriko, “would be Nuriko, are head cheerleader.”
            “Ah, well, Nuriko and I have already met.  But it’s good to meet you two.”
            “So, Tasuki-kun,” Yui spoke up, “where do you come from?”
            “Hmm, I’m half tempted to start wearing a sign around my neck with all that info on it.”  He snickered.  “Kind of gets annoying to answer the same questions over and over.  Anyone got any paper and markers?”
            “You said you were from Windhollow, right?” Nuriko asked, smirking.
            “That would be correct, yes.”
            “I’ve always wanted to go there,” the blond said.  “I heard they have wonderful academics...”
            “I wouldn’t know, I’m not that good at the school stuff,” Tasuki replied honestly.  “But it isn’t that bad of a school.”
            “I heard that someone got beat up there last year,” Miaka butted in in a gossiping tone of voice.  “Something about prejudice.”  She shrugged.  “The kid was in the hospital for a couple of weeks...”
            “Is that one of the reasons you left, Tasuki?” Nuriko asked.
            Tasuki rubbed his neck, hating anything to do with the subject.  “Yeah, that’s one of the reasons. Mom was worried about it happening again...”
            “That would be enough to make me want to leave!” Miaka exclaimed.
            Nuriko looked over at her new friend and noticed he was looking somewhat uncomfortable.  She could tell that he was anxious to get the conversation over with, just like how he didn’t like the conversation about his scar from last night.  “So, Tasuki, are you planning on joining a band?”
            “Is there one around ‘ere looking for new members?”
            “No,” Yui answered, “but I’m sure you could just start one.  There are always people around here looking for something to do.”
            “Not many of them actually bring instruments from home,” Nuriko added, looking towards Tasuki.
            Tasuki shrugged.  “I can’t live without my guitars.  So sue me.”
            “Guitars?” Miaka asked.  “You brought guitars?”
            “Yup, two of ‘em.”
            “What could you possibly need with two guitars?” Yui asked.
            “One’s acoustic, the other’s a bass.  I decided not to bring my electric.”
            “Wow,” one of the other girls at the table said, speaking up for the first time.  “Guitar-freak?”
            “String-freak,” Tasuki corrected.
            “A decent one at that,” Nuriko complimented.  “Do you sing, too, Tasuki-kun?”
            Tasuki nodded.  “When I feel the need to.  I’d rather play.”
            “That’s awesome,” another girl spoke up.
            “You’ve heard him play, Nuriko?” Yui asked.
            “Yes, a little bit, last night,” the violet-haired girl answered.
            “You should play for us some time, Tasuki!” Miaka suggested.
            “Sure, when do you guys want me to play?”  Tasuki grinned.  He loved an audience.
            “How about after lunch?”
            Tasuki shrugged.  “Sounds good to me.”
            Yui gave Miaka a serious look.  “Miaka, don’t forget that you’re being tutored today.”
            Miaka just smiled in return.  “Don’t worry, I’m sure Tamahome won’t mind waiting for a bit.”
            “Hmm,” was Yui’s only answer.
            “So, where do you girls want me to play?”
            “How about the north side garden?”
            “Umm...”  Tasuki scratched the back of his head.  He wasn’t exactly sure where that was...
            “I can show you where it is,” Nuriko offered.
            “Thanks,” Tasuki said with a smile.